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Cardinal Gibbons High School Integrates Raptor Alert and Vivi, Setting a New Standard for School Safety Efficiency and Accessibility

In this case study, we’ll review the challenges the school faced—and how Raptor worked with their team to overcome them.

“Anytime as a school you can hit one button and achieve multiple goals to make the place safer, then you should do that. If you impact one student, then you’ve done your job. So, activating an emergency response with one action in Raptor Alert and then distributing the alert through the Raptor and Vivi systems is really helpful.”

Lesley Coe, Chief Technology Officer at Cardinal Gibbons High School

The Challenge: Inefficient and Fragmented Emergency Communication

Multiple, uncoordinated processes for alerts meant a disjointed and inefficient emergency communication system. This made for slow and unreliable relaying of critical information, potentially impacting the safety and response times of staff and students in emergencies.

A heavy reliance on manual triggers for emergency alerts, complicating the process during actual emergencies and increasing the risk of failure to communicate effectively.

Limited ability for silent communication during lockdowns, limiting the ability to convey instructions discreetly when necessary.

Existing alerting did not adequately cater to the diverse needs of the school population, especially individuals with disabilities such as those who are hard of hearing or deaf, and those with noise sensitivity—including those with service animals sensitive to noise.

How the Raptor—Vivi Integration Helps: Streamlined and Effective Emergency Alerts

The unified alerting platform made possible by the API integration between Raptor Alert and Vivi creates a seamless and cohesive system for emergency notifications. This allows instant, simultaneous alerts across all classroom screens.

Decentralized alert activation through Raptor Alert means multiple authorized personnel can initiate alerts, reducing the dependency on a single point of failure and ensuring rapid response capabilities. Through the Raptor—Vivi integration, an emergency alert on Raptor automatically triggers pre-set messaging—specific to the emergency category—to display in classrooms.

Enabling silent communication through Vivi allows clear instructions to staff and students during an emergency—without causing panic or alerting potential threats.

Accommodating individual needs by utilizing silent visual alerts on Vivi-enabled displays allows the school to adapt their emergency protocols to meet individual needs. The integration provides both visual alerts on Vivi-enabled displays and auditory alerts through Raptor Alert, catering to the needs of individuals who are hard of hearing or deaf.

The Result: A Unified and Inclusive Emergency Communication System

The integration of Raptor Alert and Vivi-enabled displays has revolutionized emergency communication at Cardinal Gibbons High School by addressing previously identified challenges head-on:  

Efficiency and Cohesion in Alerts: The unified alerting platform has eliminated the disjointed and inefficient aspects of the school's emergency communication. Instant, simultaneous alerts across all classroom screens ensure that critical information is relayed quickly and reliably, significantly improving the safety and response times of staff and students during emergencies.

Enhanced Response Capabilities: The decentralized alert activation feature of Raptor Alert empowers multiple authorized personnel to initiate alerts. This reduces the reliance on a single point of failure and significantly speeds up the emergency response process, making the system more robust and dependable.

Silent and Discreet Communication: The integration's capability for silent communication addresses the previous limitation of conveying instructions discreetly during lockdowns or other sensitive scenarios. This feature is crucial for maintaining calm and order, preventing panic, and not alerting potential threats.

Accessibility and Individual Consideration: By providing both visual and auditory alerts, the system caters to the diverse needs of the school population, including individuals who are hard of hearing or deaf. This not only enhances accessibility but also underscores the school's commitment to inclusivity and the well-being of every member of its community.

Overall, the Raptor—Vivi API integration has transformed emergency preparedness and response at Cardinal Gibbons High School into a model of efficiency, inclusivity, and adaptability, setting a new standard for school safety. 

“Our aim was to enable silent communication in emergencies and avoid reliance on one person being at their desk to trigger alerts. That we can trigger Raptor Alert from a phone or laptop and then mass distribute it through Vivi as well as Raptor means we can ensure rapid, widespread message delivery without the impractical expectation that we’re always at our desks, ready to respond.”

Lesley Coe, Chief Technology Officer at Cardinal Gibbons High School

A college preparatory Catholic school, Cardinal Gibbons High School serves 1600 students in Raleigh, NC.
  • Multiple, uncoordinated processes for alerts
  • A heavy reliance on manual triggers for emergency alerts
  • Limited ability for silent communication during lockdowns
  • Existing alerting did not adequately cater to the diverse needs of the school population, especially individuals with disabilities
  • The unified alerting platform
  • Decentralized alert activation through Raptor Alert
  • Enabling silent communication through Vivi-enabled displays
  • Accommodating individual needs by utilizing silent visual alerts

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